The Beech aircraft factory in Wichita Kansas built SNB-2, construction number 4737 in 1943, and the US Navy registered it as Serial Number 39265. It had a very modest service record in WWII and beyond. It never flew in a war theater, instead serving state side as a navigation trainer at numerous Navy and Marine Corps Air Stations.

Its first duty station was in Florida, and by December 1943, it had its first accident. On a touch and go landing at NAS Miami, the gear retracted on the rollout, and the plane ground to a halt, damaging both engines, props, and cowls. The investigation cause was indeterminate, but the investigators suspected that one of the pilots raised the gear while still rolling, causing the gear to retract when it skipped over a bump in the runway.

@MileHighWingCAF

Who We Are

The Mile High Wing is a Colorado "front range" based unit of the world-wide Commemorative Air Force (CAF). The CAF is an all volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, in flying conditition, of WWII aircraft that dominated the skies during World War II.

Started in 1958 with a single P-51 "Mustang" and two F8F "Bearcats", the CAF is approaching it's goal of collecting at least one example of every aircraft used by the United States armed forces during World War II.

Our Mission

The Mission of the Commemorative Air Force is education, such that generations of Americans will value and support the contributions of military aviation in assuring our nation's freedom.